National Women’s History Month: How the Buffalo Bills are empowering women and changing the game

The Bills continue leading the way in supporting and empowering women who boldly break down barriers and change narratives

The Buffalo Bills have positioned themselves at the forefront of the NFL when looking at more than one gender while searching for the right candidate for positions within their organization. As we close out Women’s History Month, it seems right to recognize the work the Bills have done to close the gap in gender equality in the workplace.

Nearly 10% of the Bills’ employees are women — and while that may not seem like a big number, compared to the rest of the NFL, it is huge. There are 223 women employed by NFL teams, and Buffalo’s 60 female employees make up 26.9% of that number.

Of course, we wouldn’t expect anything less from a team whose owner set about breaking barriers of her own. Kim Pegula, who was born in South Korea, became the first female minority to own an NFL team when she and her husband, Terry Pegula, purchased the Buffalo franchise in 2014. In addition, Pegula is the first female team president in the history of both the NFL and the NHL in 2018 when she took over the presidency of both the Bills and the Buffalo Sabres franchises.

While Pegula led the way, the Bills filled two of their other top 20 organizational positions with female applicants. Barb Evans is the Director of Human Resources while Katie Jordan is the Director of Events and Experience.

But it’s not just office positions that Buffalo has considered filling with qualified women. In 2016, the Bills made Kathryn Smith the first full-time female member of any NFL coaching staff when they hired her as their Special Teams Quality Control Coach. In 2018, Phoebe Schecter completed a coaching internship in Buffalo, making her the first British female coach in the NFL, and, in 2019, they added a third woman to their coaching staff: Callie Brownson.

“I was immediately impressed by her enthusiasm for the game of football and her career aspirations. During training camp, she showed a tremendous work ethic and earned this opportunity,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said that Buffalo isn’t just giving positions to women to increase diversity, but because they are proving that they are the best candidates for the positions. “She is very driven, professional, smart, and eager to learn.”

In 2021, the Bills added another woman to their coaching staff, this time in a full-time position, when they hired Sophia Lewin as an Offensive Assistant Coach. In the same week, general manager Brandon Beane promoted Andrea Gosper from scouting intern, a position she held for two years, to Player Personnel Coordinator.

“While she’s still growing, she’s got what it takes. In two years, she’s come so far,” Beane said about Gosper. “She’s going to be a good scout when her day comes. I firmly believe that.”

In 2023, the Bills hired their first full-time female trainer when they promoted Marissa Figueroa from intern to Assistant Trainer with Beane singing her praises saying that she was “not afraid of the moment.”

The Bills have also put an emphasis on mental health and, in 2020, they hired Dr. Desaree Festa to serve as a full-time Sport Psychologist and Team Clinician. Festa is one of the first, full-time, sports psychologists in the NFL — male or female.

In an effort to emphasize their focus on gender equality, the Buffalo Bills spent National Women’s History Month supporting local women’s organizations and female entrepreneurs, and volunteering with groups aimed at empowering young girls.

Maddy Glab, another of the Bills’ female employees who has been serving as the Bills Team Reporter since 2020, created a series of videos highlighting some of the work that was done throughout March.

While there is still plenty of work to be done in regards to gender equality in all realms — sport and otherwise — there’s no arguing that the Buffalo Bills aren’t afraid to do that work. Whether in house, in the league, or in their community, the Bills are leading the way in supporting and empowering women who are boldly breaking down barriers and changing narratives.